


A Friendship Shared

by star54kar



Series: Coffee Trilogy [3]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Angst, Drama, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Missing Moments, Protectiveness, Romance, Slash, grieving/mourning, year written: 2011
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-18
Updated: 2011-06-18
Packaged: 2017-10-20 13:45:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/213399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/star54kar/pseuds/star54kar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>In the end, it was a cup of coffee that broke him.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	A Friendship Shared

**Author's Note:**

> This is the concluding chapter of my [Coffee Trilogy](http://fics-by-star54.dreamwidth.org/tag/series:+coffee+trilogy), but the story could easily stand alone. The idea for this scene has been haunting me since I wrote [Acts of Friendship](http://fics-by-star54.dreamwidth.org/30256.html), but it took me a long time to craft the story to the point where it matched the very specific vision I had in my head. In any event, here it is, finally, and I hope that you enjoy it.

  
**Title:** A Friendship Shared  
 **Summary:** _In the end, it was a cup of coffee that broke him._  
 **Rating:** PG  
 **Warnings:** Reference to canon major character deaths.  
 **Characters:** Ianto Jones, Toshiko Sato, Jack Harkness, and Gwen Cooper.  
 **Pairing:** Jack/Ianto  
 **Word Count:** 1,252  
 **Spoilers:** Specifically references the conclusion of _Exit Wounds_ , but let's say all of Series 1 and 2 to be safe.  
 **Beta:** Thank you to [](http://czarina-kitty.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**czarina_kitty**](http://czarina-kitty.dreamwidth.org/) for the beta and to [](http://thesteppyone.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**thesteppyone**](http://thesteppyone.dreamwidth.org/) for the brit-pick. Any remaining errors are my own.  
 **Author's Notes:** This is the concluding chapter of my [Coffee Trilogy](http://fics-by-star54.dreamwidth.org/tag/series:+coffee+trilogy), but the story could easily stand alone. The idea for this scene has been haunting me since I wrote [Acts of Friendship](http://fics-by-star54.dreamwidth.org/30256.html), but it took me a long time to craft the story to the point where it matched the very specific vision I had in my head. In any event, here it is, finally, and I hope that you enjoy it.

  


  
A Friendship Shared   


In the end, it was a cup of coffee that broke him.

In retrospect, perhaps he should have seen it coming. It had been nearly a month since they'd lost Tosh and Owen, and the chaos the Rift kept spitting out was running all of them ragged. Jack and Gwen were desperately in need of his support right now and Ianto had done his best to remain strong for both their sakes.

There was a memorable occasion two weeks ago, when Gwen had simply sunk to the floor of the Hub and sobbed for hours as Ianto and Jack cradled her protectively between them. There also were several nights over the course of the past month when Jack had cried himself to sleep in Ianto's arms. All things considered, Ianto supposed that he was more than overdue for an emotional meltdown of his own.

What he _didn't_ expect was for it to be triggered by a random act of thoughtfulness on Jack's part.

Ianto was up in the Tourist office, busy trying to make some sense out of a complicated computer program, when Jack and Gwen returned from picking up the latest alien artifact the Rift decided to drop off. He smiled at Gwen as she walked in and pushed the button to let her into the Hub. She smiled back and passed through quickly; carrying the item they'd retrieved in a secure container.

Jack sauntered in a moment later, his greatcoat flowing dramatically behind him as he moved until he paused in front of Ianto. With an exaggerated gesture, he made a show of placing a large paper cup on Ianto's workstation, and with a flirtatious wink declared, "I got you a coffee."

Ianto was startled when he heard the words he was so used to hearing from Tosh fall from Jack's lips, and he looked up at Jack with disbelief.

"Don't look at me like that," Jack scolded playfully, misunderstanding the reason for Ianto's reaction. "I know I can't make coffee the way that you can, but I promise you that this came from a quaint little shop that sells the good stuff."

Ianto's hand seemed to move of its own volition, raising the cup to his lips and, before his brain had the chance to catch up with his body, he had already taken a hesitant sip. The instant that the rich dark brew rolled over his tongue he realized that Jack was right. This _was_ the good stuff. The beans had obviously been roasted to perfection, resulting in a decadent flavor that left no unpleasant after taste. It was fixed precisely how he liked it, not too sweet, nor too creamy.

It was perfect.

It was _more_ than perfect.

A month ago, Ianto would have been astonished but thrilled to discover that Jack had paid enough attention to him to know exactly how he liked his coffee. But, at that moment, he would have given anything to have Tosh walk through that door and hand him a terrible, overly sweet cup of coffee with a bitter aftertaste. The heart wrenching realization that she was gone—that she would never surprise him with a substandard take away coffee ever again was suddenly far more than he could bear. He set down the cup with trembling hands and treacherous tears instantly began to fall down his face.

Jack's face crumbled at the unexpected response to his gift, but he recovered instantly and rushed around the counter to gather Ianto in his strong arms. "What is it?" he asked softly with obvious concern. "What's wrong?"

"I miss Tosh," Ianto answered, his voice breaking with emotion before he buried his face into Jack's shoulder. He held onto him tightly, letting Jack bear the brunt of his weight as he let himself go and sobbed with wild abandon.

Jack held him steady as he cried. His strong arms supported him, not allowing him to fall until his tears gradually subsided. Once Ianto could stand on his own again, Jack relaxed his grip but continued to hold him close in a gentle embrace. He tenderly wiped away the wet trails his tears had left behind on his face before placing a soft, sweet kiss on Ianto's lips.

Then Jack reached past Ianto, pressed the button to activate the open com channel into the Hub and said, "Gwen, Ianto and I are going out. You can head home as soon as you finish storing that artifact."

"Okay, thanks, Jack," Gwen answered. "Have a good night and I'll see you two tomorrow."

"You too," Jack replied before he cut off the link. Then he looked into Ianto's eyes and said softly, "Come on, we're going home."

Ianto took Jack's offered hand and allowed him to lead him over to the SUV, leaving the cup of coffee abandoned on the countertop behind them. Ianto was scarcely aware of the drive back to his flat. The sensation of Jack's hand resting lightly on his thigh as he drove in silence was the only thing Ianto could focus on; the touch keeping him grounded, making him feel safe as his turbulent emotions threatened to swallow him whole.

He blinked as the SUV came to a halt and, all too soon, Jack's hand disappeared from his thigh. He sat there feeling dazed for a moment, before Jack came around to his side and opened the door. The moment he got out Jack reached for his hand, and Ianto clung to it like a lifeline as he was led to his door. Jack pulled out the set of keys Ianto had given him months ago and let them into Ianto's flat.

Jack walked to the bedroom and silently guided Ianto to sit down on the edge of the bed before he quickly kicked off his shoes and stripped down to his underwear, leaving his clothes lying in a neglected heap on the floor. That being accomplished, he cupped Ianto's face gently in his hands before leaning down to give him another soft, tender kiss. Then Jack slowly, methodically, began to undress Ianto piece by piece. He treated each article of clothing with all the consideration that he'd neglected with his own. Each piece was laid out neatly on a nearby chair until Ianto was also clad in just his underwear.

Then Jack turned out the light in the bedroom, pulled down the covers on the bed, and gently manipulated Ianto into lying down. Jack lay down beside him, pulled the covers back over them, and spooned up against Ianto's back, holding him close.

They were lying together in silence for a long while before Ianto finally whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Jack murmured in his ear as he continued to cradle him protectively. "You're so strong all the time, Ianto. You always take care of me when I need it. Let me take care of you this time."

Ianto let out a long breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding and nodded. Then in the warm safety of Jack's arms he began to speak, putting into words the tale of a friendship built over time and cups of terrible coffee. In doing so he shared with Jack, for the very first time, something that had previously only belonged to him and to Tosh, a secret language of small presents and smiles.

He recalled each precious moment, each cup of coffee and, as he shared them with Jack he felt the heaviness that had gathered around his heart lessen…just a little.


End file.
